China Remains Atop Quarterly Renewable Energy Index

Oct 5, 2011 - renewableenergyworld.com

Ongoing debt worries from the United States to Europe, and austerity measures that aim to drastically slash government spending in those countries, continue to impact financing of renewable energy projects. China, meanwhile, is moving ahead with its accelerated growth as renewables continue to figure prominently into its energy future.

The stark differences are represented in Ernst & Young’s latest quarterly global renewable energy country attractiveness indices, released this week. The index ranks countries in order of attractiveness for investment in renewable energy.

According to the report, financing costs are soaring in the countries with the deepest economic troubles, while those that have been mostly spared of downturns are returning to more competitive lending.

The report provides scores for 35 countries for national renewable energy markets, renewable energy infrastructures and their suitability for individual technologies.

China remained atop the index. The Chinese government has said it will hold tenders for a total of two gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind projects in order to reach its target of 5 GW by 2015. According to news reports, China also solidified its move toward wind power by revising its target to generate 100 GW of on-grid wind energy by 2015, up from its previous target of 90 GW.

The top 10 was rounded out by the United States, Germany, India, the U.K., Italy, France, Canada, Spain and Sweden.